Crowdfunding science: could it work?

By Didier Schmitt. Crowdfunding has energised public and private sectors, says Didier Schmitt – could it reconnect science and society too? In its infancy, science was sponsored by rich benefactors who favoured areas of their own liking. Today, despite being more equitably financed by public intervention, science seems to evolve in parallel to, rather than in sync with, society. In the future, should citizens have a direct say in priority setting for science and technology developments to rebalance the supply and the demand? More...